Chest-Supported T-Bar Row
Trains the Rhomboids and Middle Trapezius.
- Equipment
- A machine
- Mechanic
- Compound
- Force
- Pull
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Set the chest pad on a T-bar row machine so that when you lie against it, your arms can hang straight down and reach the handles.
- Lie face down with your chest against the pad and your feet planted on the platform.
- Take the handles with an overhand grip and let your arms hang, allowing the shoulder blades to travel forward.
- Pull the handles toward your ribs by driving your elbows back and out, keeping your chest against the pad throughout.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together at the top, hold for a moment, then lower under control to a full stretch.
Common mistakes
- Pushing off the pad with the chest to help. If the torso lifts away, the hips and lower back have joined in — which is exactly what the chest support exists to prevent. Staying pinned to the pad is the whole point.
- Choosing it and then rowing like a free-weight row anyway. The value here is that the lower back and hips are removed from the equation, so the upper back can be trained closer to failure without the rest of the body limiting it.
- Half repetitions at heavy loads. The support tempts heavier weight than a bent-over row allows, and the first thing to disappear is the shoulder-blade squeeze at the top.
- Ignoring it because it looks less impressive than a barbell row. For training the rhomboids and middle trapezius specifically, removing the lower back as a limiting factor is an advantage, not a compromise.